Oh, how I love my San Francisco 49ers.
Yes, I did say my 49ers, because I consider them my team. I grew up with chilly nights at Candlestick Park, and my favorite number is 16 because Joe Montana wore it on his back.
But this isn’t a Niners column.
What you might not know is that a 49er is a person, a person who dug for gold in the California gold rush. The Niners’ mascot is a big, goofy white guy – named Sourdough Sam – with a tremendous beard and a ridiculous cowboy hat.
What’s also ridiculous is the notion that I would ever be offended by Sourdough Sam. In fact, I always thought the idea of a fun, historical figure that inspired me to learn about my heritage was somehow a good thing.
Silly me.
So how’s this for ridiculous: A group of Oregon law students is circulating a petition to get the Athletic Department to stop scheduling games against schools with American Indian mascots. Today the petition will be presented to University President Dave Frohnmayer.
The plan is flawed logically because, in order to work, it allows for postseason tournaments and schools that have agreements with the tribes they depict, including the Utah Utes and the Florida State Seminoles. That the plan makes these allowances begs the question of how hard-line its proponents actually are.
But the plan is also ridiculous theoretically, because mascots should not be offensive.
My Webster’s Dictionary defines “mascot” as “something regarded as a cherished emblem or symbol (as of a group or institution).” The key word in there is “cherished,” because that’s what an athletic mascot is. I cherish my Sourdough Sam just as fans across the country cherish their Utes and Seminoles.
So rather than exploiting American Indians, sports teams are glorifying them. Rather than abusing American Indian culture, sports teams celebrate it.
Certainly this does not apply to every team, and some teams such as the Washington Redskins of the National Football League have blatantly offensive team names. I would be offended if my favorite football squad was named the San Francisco “Whiteskins.” But Division I collegiate programs don’t cross into the crass like that professional squad does.
That’s why it’s silly to ask the Athletic Department to boycott schools with American Indian mascots. The mascots are not representative of anything more than a football or basketball team. An intramural basketball team at the University of Northern Colorado changed their name to the Fighting Whites to “deliver a simple, sincere message about ethnic stereotyping,” according to the team’s Web site. I was not offended by their team mascot, just as others shouldn’t be offended by any kind of sports mascot.
The Athletic Department shouldn’t be forced by anyone to make a political statement, especially when the statement is so, well … ridiculous.
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday at [email protected]